The Ties That Bind
by Freakin' Yoda
Summary: On a patrol gone wrong, a young girl is found, but who is she. A long-lost sister? A loyal friend? A fierce fighter? A hero just waiting to be shaped and formed? A rebellious spirit unable to find peace? A teenager simply looking for somewhere to belong? A means toward reconciliation? Or, is she all these things and so much more? OC Character you've been warned
1. Chapter 1

**Whelp, here's a new story. The idea just kinda hit me out of no where and I decided to run with it. It is an OC story, so if you don't like that, well, you probably won't like this. Anyway, here's to hoping you enjoy. Let me know what you think.**

******In this story, Dick is 26, Jason is 21, Tim is 16, and Damian is 12. Also, this story is kinda a bit of a mix between the reboot and the "old 52." So, Babs is back to being Batgirl, but Kon is still dead and so are Tim's parents.**

**Oh, and I own no one but Haley. If I did, Babs and Dick would so be together right now, or Dick would be dating me, but whatever...**

The cold, hard cement slammed against Nightwing's face and torso as he hit the ground, hard, his right shoulder oozing blood at an alarming rate from the gunshot he had just sustained.

He tried to push himself off the ground but a crowbar landed against his back, hard, knocking the wind out of him and sending him crashing back down to the ground again. He groaned in pain as the crowbar came down on him two more times in quick succession and maniacal laughter filled the dark alley he had landed in.

He couldn't believe he had allowed himself to be caught in such a ridiculously obvious trap. He had gotten a tip that some mid-level gangsters were looking to run a shipment of arms from Gotham to Bludhaven. Trusting his intel, he tried to cut the shipment off before it left Gotham, but soon found it was an elaborate scheme set up by Joker to ambush him.

He had tried to fight them off, but there were at least two and a half dozen goons who came at him. He attempted to call for back up, but something had jammed his communicator. He had taken down at least a dozen, but the numbers game was catching up on him. Realizing his only viable option was to attempt to put enough distance between himself and the Joker to get his communicator working, he attempted to take to the skies. But, Joker had henchmen on the roof waiting, and, after being pierced with a bullet to the shoulder and tossed off the roof three stories down onto the fire escape with no means to catch himself, he was soon overpowered and chased into the alley he was currently bleeding in.

_Come on Dick. Do something. _He scolded himself, trying to push himself up.

The ugly purple shoes of the Joker came into his line of sight before kicking him across the face.

"Ah, if it isn't the big blue bird. Now, why don't we play a little game? The other baby bird seemed to enjoy it in Bosnia. Now, tell me, which hurts more, this," he crashed the crowbar into Nightwing's back. "Or this," he landed a shot to the side once Dick had rotated.

Another hit. "Forehand?" Another shot, "or backhand?"

"You call that…a backhand?" Nightwing wheezed out. "I'd hate…to see…your tennis game."

With a slight growl, the Joker brought the crowbar down six times in quick succession, leaving Dick gasping in pain on the ground.

"Well, tennis never was my game, but tee-ball, now that's a sport. Let's see if I can still make a home run." He lined the crowbar up with Dick's skull and lifted it high, prepared to come down on the vigilante's skull. Nightwing tensed, knowing this would be the final blow.

However, before Joker could land the killing shot, a knife zipped through the air and caught Joker's wrist, causing him to cry out in pain and drop the crowbar. Another came whizzing by seconds later, missing his face by mere centimeters.

"That was a warning shot." A voice shouted from the shadows of the alley. "Make another move toward Nightwing and the next one goes in your eye."

A young woman stepped out of the shadows, wearing holey jeans, a black tank top, and a brown leather biker jacket. She stood about 5'8", an athletic frame. She had shocking blue eyes with dark makeup that stood out against her pale skin and blonde hair. Those eyes held a sense of toughness and commandment, the dark circles and deepness of them making her look older than the teenager she was.

"And what have we here? I'm sure it must be past your bedtime." Joker quipped, pulling the knife from his hand with a grunt.

"And I wasn't aware that the circus was in town clownshoes." She bit back, taking another step out of the shadows and closer to the group in front of her. "You and your little buddies are not welcome here."

"Oh really? Would you be so kind as to tell me who the hell you are and why you think you can tell me where I am and am not welcomed?"

"Me?" She pointed to herself and scoffed. "I'm nothing from nowhere; no one at all. But I can tell you that this block and the surrounding four blocks are protected by the outcast. There've only been a handful of major crimes in this neighborhood in the past two years and we like to keep our numbers that way, and we'll do what it takes to make that happen. Ask your boys: we got rules around here. No gang bangers, no drug dealers, no pimps, no prostitutes, and sure as hell no d*** creepy pale faced clowns."

"Ah, come on. Is that a healthy attitude to have toward outsiders?"

"Unless you've got a green sash and a box of Thin Mints to sell me, you've got about seven seconds to get out of this area."

"Sweetheart, if I'm not scared of a giant flying rodent, do you really think one PMS-ing 13-year-old little girl is going to."

"Sixteen." She swiftly corrected, before flashing a crooked smirk. "And, one PMS-ing little girl? Well…" She turned her body slightly to the side before throwing her head back, cupping her hands over her mouth and howling like a wolf.

A few moments passed in silence, before, finally, five echoing howls sounded throughout the alley before a steady _thump-thump-thump _of metal against wall and concrete was heard. But it wasn't just once echo. It was dozens of thumps sounding simultaneously. Out of the shadows emerged not ten, not twenty, but around thirty teenagers, nearly all of whom looked to be high school age. All of them had weapons in their hands: Pipes, hockey sticks, bats, golf clubs, and 2 by 4s. They were behind the blonde, at her sides, on the fire escapes. Some were even on the roof with what looked like baseballs and glass bottles.

"I think your numbers may be a little off." The girl smirked, smacking her gum a little while holding her hands to her side. "Meet the Outcast: Your local and friendly Neighborhood Watch."

The Joker laughed as he took in the scene in front of him. "Ah look, the breakfast club wants to play superheroes. Shouldn't you guys be going to prom or running off to join the circus?"

The blonde turned around as a boy approached her with two bats in hand. She took the second bat before whispering "Everyone in position?"

He nodded wordless as she turned back around to face the Joker. "Yeah, we should be living normal, teenage lives; but between living in these slum apartments and losing friends and families to numerous gang wars and to you and your psychopath friends like Two-Face and Penguin, we decided to take matters into our own hands. You're only as strong as the people of Gotham allow you to be. Batman and the other heroes are only a handful of men and women. They can't face every fight you take to them. But, if a whole city stands against you, you're good as done."

"Yeah, like you could stand against the Joker." One of the henchmen yelled, causing her to point and glare.

"Shut your mouth while the grown-ups are talking." She then turned back to Joker. "Yours isn't the first crew we've had to run off and it won't be the last. But, let's just make this a little easier. You guys just turn around and leave: no problems. We all get to go back to our homework and your can devise yet another plan that will fail and ultimately lead to Batman kicking your sorry rump all the way to Arkham."

"Well, if that's what you want, I'll just take my pal wing here and we'll…" He took a step toward the fallen hero, causing the girl to step forward and all the teenagers around her to do the same.

"Leave him alone." She nearly growled.

"Oh, does the little girl have a crush on the mini-bat?"

She scoffed again. "Well, he is much better looking than you or any of your crew, but this is about something deeper than that. He and his friends or family or whoever they are, have saved us, saved people we love more times than we'll probably ever know. And its high-time we did the same for him. So if you want to get to him, you go through us. _All _of us."

"Okay, but, you all need to take your Flintstone Vitamins when we're done here, then straight to bed." He laughed at his own joke as his lackeys joined in. Seeing the stony glares from the opposition, he sighed before looking behind him. "Crush 'em."

The few henchmen who hadn't lost their guns in the original struggle with Nightwing pointed them at the teenagers, as the girl looked behind her and started shouting out orders.

"Owls, smokescreen! Everyone else, cover!" She screamed. The kids on the roof immediately threw the glass bottles they had been holding. However, there was a mixture of chemicals inside each one that produced a thick blanket of smoke. Although most of the henchmen were too busy hacking up a storm to shoot, a few gunshots rang out and the kids all dove for cover behind dumpsters as Joker screamed. "Stop shooting you idiots, you'll hit me. They haven't even hit puberty yet, just go fight them!" He shouted and the shots ceased.

The blonde stood up and started barking orders again. "Newbs, circle around Nightwing, no one gets near him. Wolves, left side. Lions, right side. Reapers!" She looked around as everyone got into their position and her fellow reapers, a group of seven, stood behind her. "Give 'em hell."

With primal war cries, the teenagers rushed forward, weapons raised above their heads, no fear showing on their faces. The henchmen's discarded guns were kicked well out of reach of the fighting and the kids used all their resources. Their fighting wasn't acrobatic like that of the bat family, but it was street tested and approved, some may even call it dirty.

The Reapers, especially, were vicious. They each had bats and were swinging for the fences, destroying knees, shattering elbows, breaking ribs, and bruising vertebrae. They continued on their tear, as a hum to the tune of "Meet the Mets" sounded collectively from the group as they swung their bats at person after person.

Having used the element of surprise to their advantage, they quickly took down the lackeys. About eight remained on the ground as another nine or so got away.

And Joker was no where to be found.

As the girl and apparent leader of the group noticed this, she sighed and shook her head. "Typical. Guy is all talk until trouble comes." She then took in her surroundings, the members climbing off the roofs and down the fire escapes and those cradling limbs or bleeding. Most, however, were too busy cheering, high firing, or clapping one another on the back to appear too hurt. She turned to the boy who had given her the bat at the beginning of the encounter. "What are we looking at?"

"From what I saw: Two guns, 9 more bleeders, and two head hits. Everyone else is just scrapes and bruises.

"Thanks Ry. Tara," she diverted her attention to the brunette beside her. "I need you to go check on Nightwing, see what kind of injuries we're looking at." As Tara nodded and walked off, the blonde pulled herself up on the fire escape and looked at those around her.

"Alright, great job tonight everyone. Group leaders, gather your crew. Any gunshot wounds or head traumas go straight to the clinic. Anyone bleeding goes to the room on block C and gets patched up – Tara, Ryan, Evan, and Jackie will be there after a brief meeting. Everyone report there with your leaders, then head home for the night and get some rest. I want Owls _and _Wolves on patrol tomorrow night. There may be some revenge in the works, so keep your eyes peeled. Great job everyone, now get some rest." She then looked at the six closest to her. "Reapers, I need you to come with me. "

They nodded as she jumped down and started walking through the crowd, which quickly parted ways for her. Generally, no one could see any difference between her and her group, she made sure of that, feeling that leading from within was better than leading from ahead or above. However, when especially rough situations like those of that night occurred, she went into full leader mode and was treated as such by those around her.

The small group walked with her over to where the hero was on his side, in obvious pain.

The young girl knelt down next to him, giving him a soft smile. He looked somewhat frightened, probably due to the confusion from the multiple blows to the head, but she simply placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you're safe." She said softly. "My name's Haley and we're not going to hurt you. Just, try to stay calm until we figure out how to help you, okay?"

"What…what was that?"

She smirked. "A rather aggressive neighborhood watch meeting." She chuckled before looking up at Tara. "What are we looking at?"

"Cuts, gunshot to the shoulder…probably a concussion." She shook her head. "Haley, this is beyond our pay grade. We're going to have to get him to a hospital."

"No." They heard Nightwing muttered softly beside them. "No…hospital."

"Where can we take you then? How can we help? Because we aren't doctors…all we've learned we saw in E.R. or Grey's Anatomy."

Slowly and with a great deal of pain, he reached into his belt and pulled out a small backup communicator. "Red Robin." He croaked again, as his eyes grew heavy.

"Hey, hey!" She gently tapped his check to keep him awake. "Stay with us, alright, I'm sure he'll be here soon and he'll want to talk to you." She then looked at the others. "Keep him awake and as alert as you can."

Stepping away, she moved a few feet to a shadow before pressing the button on the side and sighing. "Nightwing's communicator to Red Robin. Come in Red Robin."

"_Who are you? Where's Nightwing?"_ The static-filled voice answer asked moments later.

"He was ambushed by Joker and his crew. He…he's hurt in a pretty bad way. Joker worked him over with a crowbar before we could stop him. The goons and Joker are gone, but he needs help and told us to call you."

"_Whose we? How did you stop him? What have you…"_

"Is that really important right now?" Haley snapped.

Before she could react, a flash of red jumped off the rooftop and landed in front of her, causing her to jump back and let out a small gasp of surprise while clutching her heart.

"No, it's not." Red Robin said from in front of her as he looked over the area really quickly. Immediately, he put his hand to his comlink on his ear. "Alf, do you have my GPS? I need you to send the car. Nightwing's down and needs medical attention."

"_On the way, Red Robin." _He replied quickly as Tim walked toward his fallen brother, the small group of teens parting so he could get through. Kneeling beside Nightwing, he placed a hand on his chest. "You alright Wing?"

The older man attempted to answer with a nod, but the movement sent a searing pain throughout his body and caused a coughing fit.

"Just stay still, the car's almost here." He said, doing a quick assessment of the injuries: concussion, a few broken ribs, bruises and cuts, and a possible dislocated shoulder from the fall. Red Robin turned toward the blonde girl who had met him, whom he assumed was the leader of the group.

"You say Joker did this?"

"Yeah, we fought his thugs off and he headed for higher ground I guess. We would have patched him up, but…"

"We?"

"Just…some local teens doing our part to clean Gotham up." She replied with a shrug, handing him Nightwing's communicator in the process. "Look, it's a long story that your crime-fighting buddy doesn't have time for me to tell you."

Tim studied her for a moment before nodding. He was about to say something else, when a slick, red car with a bright "R" emblem pulled in behind them. Tim looked toward Nightwing then the car before sighing. "Can you…" he motioned toward the car.

Haley nodded. "I'll help." She quickly answered as the two gingerly picked Nightwing up. The injured man, though he attempted not to, groaned and gasped in pain as he was moved from the alley floor.

"Sorry Wing. Just got to get you to the car and I'll get you home and get you patched up, alright?" Tim soothed as he and Haley gently deposited him in the passenger seat of the car. Red Robin then hurried to the other side. He was about to enter the car when Haley cleared her throat.

"Can you…" she hesitated for a few moments before sighing. "Can you let me know if he's alright? Please?"

Tim hesitated for a moment before he reluctantly nodded. "I'll be in touch." He answered, before he jumped in the car and drove off, tires squealing in his haste.

**There was chapter 1. I'm leaving for a week at church camp, so I'm going to work on it some then and then post when I get back, but the more reviews I have, the better my writing will be and the quicker I'll post. Thanks for reading! Love ya guys! Review please!**

**Casey  
*2 Corinthians 4:8-9***


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. It's me. Back from camp and ready to write. I really hope you like this chapter. I know it's moving kinda fast now, but trust me when I tell you I will divulge more into everyone's characters in this story, I'm just trying to get the ball rolling at the moment.**

**Oh, and just in case you guys were wondering, I do have people in mind who I would cast as the major characters in this story, but I don't want to ruin anyone's idea of what Dick, Tim, etc are like, but if you'd like to hear my "all star cast" let me know.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy. I only own the OC, so please don't sue.**

Haley rolled over on the dingy mattress on the floor of her run-down apartment. She shivered as the holey blanket barely blocked the chilly breeze coming in through the cracks and holes in the wall and where the window seal's seal had fallen apart.

It also didn't help that her window had been busted out three days ago and she had leant out the only tarp she owned to a neighbor with the same problem. She curled up in a tighter ball to attempt to keep herself warm.

"Not exactly the palace I imagined the leader of the outcast living in."

Quickly reaching up, she grabbed the gun from her nightstand and pointed it at the intruder.

Red Robin's stiletto was seen in the window as he held his hands up, showing he was not there to cause any harm. Haley sighed as she sat the gun back down on the nightstand. "That's the second time you've nearly given me a heart attack." She scolded, attempting to get her breathing under control.

"Sorry, force of habit." He explained with a shrug as she stood out of bed, wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and short shorts. She rubbed at her sapphire like eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asked before a look of realization suddenly crossed her face and she ran a hand through her blonde locks. "Oh, right, Nightwing." She walked into the other room and he followed her through the tiny apartment. It was simple; one bedroom with a combined kitchen and living area and a bathroom the size of a closet.

He took a further look around the apartment. There was no air conditioning unit, no heater. There wasn't a TV nor a computer. The only furniture was a mattress lying on the ground, a slanted card table, and two folding chairs. There were no dressers, but a small pile of clothes were in the corner. A small, dingy teddy bear lay on the bed next to where she had been trying to sleep.

"I know it's not much." She said with a sigh. "But it's enough to get by." She started walking toward the sink. "Do you want to sit down? Can I get you a drink or anything?"

Tim couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't freak you out at all, do I?"

She got a dingy looking cup out of the cupboard and filled some water in the tap, then turned to lean her back against the counter with the makings of a smug smirk on her face. "Well, you aren't nearly as intimidating as your Dad or boss, or whatever the big bat is to you. But, most importantly, you really only need to be nervous about the bat and his crew if you've been doing something wrong. The worst thing any of you would do to me would be to tell me to focus on school and leave the crime fighting to you. I really don't plan on listening, so…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Did you want that drink or some food maybe?"

Red Robin looked at her, and she could tell his eyebrows were about to his scalp.

"What?"

"In all the years I've been doing this, no one has ever asked me that."

She shrugged. "Well, Gotham is pretty rude." She paused for a moment. "How's Nightwing? I mean, I assume that's why you're here."

"It is." He said. "He's alright. Nothing that won't heal."

When Red Robin didn't even grin at his news, Haley gave him a questioning look. "You don't smile a lot, do you?" When he didn't respond, she gave him a soft smile. "Well, I'm glad to hear he's okay."

"Yeah, thanks to you. Although my 'boss' as you put it, has never been too thrilled that a bunch of rogue teenagers are out standing toe to toe with villains and criminals alike."

"Ah, so you've heard of us?"

Red Robin nodded. "We knew that crime had dropped in the area and, when we investigated, we saw that it was the local teens who had taken the initiative to cause that. Didn't realize it was so evolved though."

"We are pretty awesome, aren't we?" She bragged, taking a drink of water.

"Don't get too cocky. Joker won't take this lightly. But, you saved Nightwing tonight, so we'll be watching. We owe you one. _I _owe you one."

She smirked and turned back toward the cabinets. "Hey. I'm sure you guys have saved us more times than I'll ever know about. So, I'd call us square at the least." She rummaged through it for a few seconds. "Are you sure that you don't want any…"

She stopped short when she turned around and saw her apartment was empty. She scoffed, shaking her head. "Friggin' bats, man."

* * *

Tim pulled his cowl down as he entered the cave. Walking over to the infirmary, he looked at his still unconscious brother and rested a hand on his chest.

"Is he still doing alright?"

"He's fine. He hasn't woken up since you left." Bruce answered, cowl down, not turning away from the Bat-Computer.

"I was afraid of that. When you tell him you don't want him patrolling for at least a week so he can heal up, he isn't going to be happy. I really didn't want to be anywhere near the line of fire."

"Well, he'll just have to get over that."

"You know he'll make the argument that he isn't a child anymore, right?"

"To me, yes. But, he won't be able to say no to Alfred."

Tim scoffed a little. "That's just low." Walking up to the computer, he sat a hairbrush down next to Bruce, causing his adopted father to raise an eyebrow at him. "It's the girl's hairbrush. It's got her fingerprints on it, so we can finally learn about the leader of the outcast."

Seeing the look Batman was giving him, Tim rolled his eyes. "Would you have rather I kidnapped her and drug her down here so you could interrogate her and run test?"

Bruce chuckled despite himself. "Good point. But you chose to lift her hairbrush of all things?"

"She lives very hand to mouth." Tim explained with a sigh. "Not much food or wordly possessions. I just didn't want to take something I didn't think she could borrow or replace easily."

Batman nodded his understanding and, after grabbing the proper tools, dusted the brush for prints, placed it on the computer scanner, and waited for the match. The computer began to scan the files as Bruce turned back to Tim.

"You didn't see any sign of Joker or his thugs in the area, did you?"

"No." Tim quickly replied. "I circled the blocks three times then once more after I left her apartment. I let Commissioner Gordon know he may want to keep a closer eye on the area, but it doesn't look like Joker is going to do anything yet."

"He'll be back though." Bruce growled darkly, taking a glance toward Nightwing. Tim sighed inwardly, knowing how difficult it had been for Bruce to deal when he had brought Dick back from the alley.

_Tim jumped out of the car as Bruce hurried over, his cowl already down but in full Batman mode. "Status." He was already hurriedly grabbing Dick out of the car and carrying him to the infirmary where Alfred was waiting._

"_He passed out on the way here. Initial assessment showed a concussion, broken ribs, multiple lacerations and contusions."_

"_How?"_

_Tim shuffled his feet nervously before swallowing down his nerves. He looked up to meet Batman's gaze. "It was Joker. He…he used a crowbar."_

_The murderous glare that Bruce gave him was something he had never seen before. He had seen similar stares from Batman, but never anything quite this filled with rage while the cowl was removed._

_Bruce swallowed the bile in his throat as he took in his sons injuries, the angry mask gave way to one of fatherly concern. Realizing how close he came to losing his son, his eldest, he allowed himself a rare and brief moment where he showed his affection for his children by running a comforting hand through Dick's hair a few times._

_However, after mere seconds, the softer side of Bruce Wayne was gone and a raging bat took over. He glared at Alfred, muttering a quick, "take care of him," before sulking over to the Bat-Computer. Hitting a button he quickly opened communicator lines to all channels._

"_This is Bat-Man on an open line. Joker is loose in the city. If you see him, do not engage. Trail him and contact me. That is an order. Batman out."_

_Batman spent the remainder of time pacing next to the infirmary, watching Alfred work on his son, offering help when and if he could. This was, by far, not the worst injury Dick had ever received, but something about Joker and a crow bar being involved sent Bruce into a tailspin of flashbacks of loosing Jason. And, although the logical, detective side of his brain argued that Bruce should go back on patrol since Dick's injuries, while somewhat severe, were not life-threatening; the fatherly part screamed at him to stay put and take care of his son in a way he couldn't take care of Jason after such a similar attack by the Joker. _

_And that's exactly what he did. Nerves on end, he watched until Alfred deemed Dick would be fine, but would need to take a few days off of patrolling to get better._

_Bruce not only agreed, but said that Nightwing would be taking a week off._

_After everything had calmed down and Dick was alright, Tim had gone to meet with Haley like he had promised and Alfred had gone upstairs to make refreshments and check on Damian, who was home sick with the flu. _

_Bruce however, though he would deny it if anyone ever asked, had simply sat next to Dick's bed and watched the up and down motions of his chest and listened to the soft beep of the heart monitor until he was alerted by the security system that Red Robin's car was approaching._

Tim patted his shoulder. "Yeah, he will be, but we're ready for him. He'll be back in Arkham, worse for the wear, and Dick will be bugging Alfred to make chocolate chip cookies in no time."

A shadow of a smirk formed on Bruce's face. He was about to respond, but the computer started beeping urgently, letting the two superhero's know that it had found a match for the fingerprints on the hairbrush. Bruce quickly turned to the keyboard and screen to analyze the findings.

"Does she have a record?" Tim asked, watching his mentor work.

"No. The match came from Child Protective Services. She was or is in the foster care system." Bruce explained. His eyes grew wide in shock for a moment before he quickly caught himself and returned to his normal brooding and stoic expression.

Tim saw the look, however brief it may have been, and quickly called Bruce out on it. "What is it?"

"Later." Was all Bruce said as he hurriedly tapped in the JLA Communicator. "Superman."

"_Yeah Batman?"_

"I'm sending you Red Hood's coordinates. I need you to got get him and bring him here. _Now."_

"_Why?"_

Bruce sighed as he lowered the defenses of the cave. "I don't have time to explain. It's a family matter and it's urgent."

Clark hesitated a moment before replying. _"Just promise you aren't going to try to hurt him unprovoked."_

"I could never hurt Jason." Bruce replied, his voice losing some of its edge.

A mere seven seconds later, Superman was standing in the cave holding a surprised and squirming unmasked Jason Todd under his left arm.

"What the f*** is this?" Jason shouted, the white streak in his hair standing in dark contrast to the dark hair around it. "Get off of me." He shouted, attempting to wrench his arm free of Superman. Obviously, he could not, but the Man of Steel quickly obliged the nonverbal request and released the Red Hood.

"Thanks for bringing him." Bruce nodded toward Clark before looking at the former Robin, his voice still holding the softer tone it had earlier. "Jason, calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down?" Jason shouted, his face growing red in anger. "You have Clark pull me out of bed in the middle of the night and drag me all the way down here without a hint of warning and you expect me to act calm? Who the f*** do you think you are? You can't just order me around like you did when I was Robin and expect me to be at your beck and call! You walk around like you're some superhero God and…"

"Jason, shut up!" Bruce harshly interrupted, causing the others to grow silent. Sighing, he ran a hand down his face before looking at Superman. "Clark, can you give us a moment?"

The Man of Steel nodded, and, seeing Nightwing lying in the infirmiry, he went over to check on the young man.

A look of concern crossed Jason's face for less than a moment before he rolled his eyes, indifference and annoyance clear in his features. "Did you call me here because Dickie-bird got himself hurt again? Because, quite frankly, I don't care."

"Yes, you do care." Bruce argued, but continued on before Jason could respond. "And that isn't what this is about."

"Then why the h*** did you have Clark drag me out of my apartment and away from my friends at three thirty in the morning?"

"Nightwing got into a little bit of a situation tonight." Bruce didn't go into details, not sure how Jason would respond to Joker's attack on Dick, seeing as it was so similar to the beginning of how he was killed. "He had some help out of it."

Jason rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to care, why?"

"Jason," Bruce said, and for once his emotionless, stoic expression was one of concern and regret, like he knew the words he was about to say were going to send someone whom, despite everything, he still cared for, through a whirlwind of emotions. "We found her."

"Bruce, you're Batman. You find a lot of people in your line of work, so you're going to need to be a bit more specific."

"Jason. We found Piper."

This time, Jason didn't even attempt to hide his expression. His jaw dropped and he looked at Bruce as if he wasn't speaking English and had grown a second head.

"Wh-what?" He barely managed to choke out as Bruce pointed toward the picture on the computer, showing that the Bat-Computer had found a match for "Haley's" prints.

"We found your sister."

And that was when Jason threw his first punch.

**And there it is. Hope you enjoyed. Trust me, you'll definitely hear more from Dick as the story goes along, seeing as he is my favorite character and all. :) Anyway, please read and review. Tell me what you like or hate or what you'd like to see. Reviews = love and I'd love to have some, so please, just drop me a line and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and I hope to post again soon.**

**Until then,  
Casey  
*2 Corin. 4:8-9***


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with this story so far. Hope you're liking it. Seriously, anything you see that you do or don't like, let me know so I can make this story better.**

**Also, something else I probably should have mentioned earlier. In this story, Dick is 26, Jason is 21, Tim is 16, and Damian is 12. I know Little D hasn't been in the story much yet, but he will be soon, don't worry. Also, this story is kinda a bit of a mix between the reboot and the "old 52." So, Babs is back to being Batgirl, but Kon is still dead and so are Tim's parents. (I'll post this stuff at the beginning of the first chapter so that new readers will know from the getgo.)**

**As always, I own nothing but Piper or any other OC characters that may be mentioned or used in this story. So please, don't sue. :)**

Jason sat on the roof top with his Red Hood helmet sitting next to him. He could feel the beginning of November in his bones. It was cold, crisp, bitter, and could be seen in the cloud that appeared every time he exhaled. He didn't notice much, however, as he sat, stoic and unmoving as the stone gargoyles next to him, his domino mask catching light from the moon.

He rummaged in his pocket for the pack of cigarettes he always carried with him. Kory had made him give up the habit when she started working with him and Roy, but the events of the last week were really making him rethink agreeing to that. He turned the pack over in his hand again and again as he stared at the apartment across from the roof he was sitting on, his thoughts back to the confrontation in the cave a three days before.

_Tim immediately moved toward Jason after he threw the punch, but Bruce pushed a hand out and pulled him back and then looked toward the medical bay, where Clark was glancing their way with a watchful eye._

"_Tim, go check on Dick. Then, go see if Damian is still asleep." Realizing that his adoptive father needed time alone with the family's black sheep, Tim reluctantly nodded and headed that way, casting glances over his shoulder._

_Bruce then turned his attention back to the seething 21-year-old in front of him. _When did he get to be so old? _Bruce asked himself, but quickly shook his head, clearing his mind from its trip toward memory lane._

"_What do you mean 'you found her?' When? Where is she? Is she okay?" The rapid fire of question flowed out of Jason's mouth at an almost indistinguishable manner. However, having spent years caring for the boy as one would a son gave Bruce the ability to decipher what he had said. _

"_Jason, you need to calm down…"_

"_Calm down! You call me up out of the pull and say 'we found your sister' and leave it at that? How long have you known, Bruce?"_

"_I called you as soon as we matched her fingerprints," he explained, motioning to the hairbrush by the computer. "And she's alive." He quickly added, somewhat relieved when he saw some of the tension leave the young man's shoulders._

"_Where is she?"_

"_On the Westside of the Narrows, where the crime rate has been steadily declining for the past few years. A group of teenagers have decided to police their neighborhood themselves, chasing off low-level drug-dealers, pimps, and the like. Apparently your sister is the leader of the group."_

_Jason scrubbed a hand down his face before sighing. "Oh, Piper. What are you thinking?"_

"_We've heard rumors about the group, but since that's not a hot spot for the "super criminals," we just tried to keep our ears and eyes open around there. We didn't realize Piper was involved. She's been going by the name Haley Oliver."_

"_How did you find out it was her?"_

"_Dick got ambushed tonight. Her and her…group came to his aid. He may not have gotten out of there in one piece if they hadn't."_

"_Who got the jump on him?"_

_When Bruce remained silent, Jason's hands balled into fist and his face turned red. He took a step toward the Dark Knight._

"_WHO?"_

"_Joker."_

_Jason took in a jagged breath, after which his lungs seemed to forget how to function. The blood drained from his face as he ran both hands, which were slightly shaking, through his hair. "Oh God." Then, suddenly, he grabbed Bruce by the shoulders and shoved his against the closest wall. Bruce could have easily fought the unfocused and raging Jason off, but chose not to as the Red Hood began to shout in his face._

"_This is all your fault! If you would have just killed the Joker after…after he killed me then he wouldn't still be terrorizing Gotham! He's going to put a price on my sister's head or try to collect it himself. And it's all your fault!"_

"_Jason, we're going to patrol the area much closer. We'll keep an eye on things. We won't let anything happen to your sister."_

"_Just like you didn't let anything happen to me?" He shouted, ignoring the flash of guilt and pain that pulsed across Bruce's face before he turned on his heels and stormed out of the cave._

That was three days ago, and every night (and most of every day if he was honest) he sat on this roof and watched his sister's every move and every movement around her, his Berettas loaded and ready to be fired at the sight of the slightest threat toward his sister.

His mind kept trying to go back to his early days in a tiny, decrepit apartment with little heat and food, a drunken Dad, and a druggie Mom; memories he wanted nothing to do with.

So lost in his thoughts was he that he almost didn't hear Nightwing coming up behind him.

_Almost _being the key word there. He was, after all, the Red Hood and trained by Batman himself. No matter how distracted he was, catching him off guard was much harder than it looked.

Dick sat down heavily next to him. Silence surrounded the two for a few moments before Jason cleared his throat. "Aren't you supposed to be confined to bed rest for the next month?"

"No patrol for a week and some change." Dick replied with an eye roll.

"But yet here you are in your oh-so-masculine leotard. Don't you think Daddy Bats is going to be upset when he finds out you didn't listen to him."

Dick shrugged. "Won't be the first time. Besides, I'll just point out I learned my stubbornness from him. Besides," Dick said, producing two thermoses and handing them toward Jason. "I was told to bring you these. Alfred's chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate. I believe his exact words were, 'if the boy insists on staying in the cold watching his sister, at least he can try not to get hypothermia'."

"Don't want it."

"Do you really want Alf on your case about not eating?"

Jason mulled it over for a few moments, then reached for them.

"The blue one's the coco." Dick explained, as Jason unscrewed that one and took a quick swig, then another. The two's eyes looked across the roofs to where Piper was in her room, lying on a bed, drawing on her notepad. Jason sighed, as if what he were about to say were the most difficult words he would ever speak. "I…I know you're the one who put the bags of food and the money in her apartment…thank you."

Dick shrugged, "She helped me out, figured it was the least I could do in return." He chuckled a little. "Didn't seem to help her much, though. She just gave nearly all the food and money away to help her neighbors out. Guess I'll have to make another drop off later tonight."

"She should have kept some of the food for herself. Look at how skinny she is. It's not healthy." Jason ran a hand through his hair. "But that's never been her MO. Even when we were little in the orphanage together, she'd always try to give me her food and when I wouldn't take it, she'd find one of the younger kids to give it to."

"She seems pretty special."

"That's cause she is."

It remained silent again before Dick finally spoke up.

"Why won't you go see her Jase?"

"It's none of your business." Jason growled.

Dick raised an eyebrow but simply stared at the wayward son of the Batman family.

After seeing his efforts to ignore Dick were going to be futile, Jason groaned. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope."

"I could just outrun you."

"You wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Piper then."

"Then I'll just knock you out."

"And have to deal with Tim whining about you beating me up and Bruce's gaze of wrath? Not to mention Alfred scolding you."

"I hate you Grayson."

"No you don't." Dick argued with a smile, before his face turned serious again. "Seriously Jase, what's going on?"

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"I learned my stubbornness from the big guy. What do you think?"

Jason sighed and ran a hand down his face. "She thinks I'm dead."

"Yeah," Dick said slowly, confusion clear in his voice, "which is exactly why you should go try and talk to her."

"And how am I supposed to explain my sudden reappearance after seven years? What, fell in a well and just now got out? Was kidnapped by terrorist? There is not a story I can concoct that won't give away who I really am."

"I'm sure we could think of something. Come back to the cave and we'll try to plan a cover…" Dick couldn't finish his suggestion before being cut of by the Red Hood

"No. I am not crawling back to Bruce and asking him or anyone else for help. Your _help" _he sneered, "has painted a target on my sister's back that she might not even be aware of."

"You know I've already tried to apologize for that." The first Robin sighed, thinking of the danger he inadvertently placed the neighborhood in. "But, a positive can come out of the situation. You can have your sister back."

Jason just stared silently at the building across the hall.

"Why won't you go talk to her?"

The Red Hood scoffed, uncaring. "And paint a bigger target on her back, I don't think so. The further we stay away from her, the better."

Dick just continued to look at him, cocking an eyebrow behind the domino mask.

"What?"

"There's more to it than that." Dick argued.

"Would you stop trying to psychoanalyze me?"

"Would you stop lying to me?"

Jason glared at Dick, who rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine, let's try it this way then Jaybird. You tell me the real reason you won't go see Piper, since this protection thing is a load of pull, seeing as she'd be safer in the Manor or at my place or your place than here, or I'll go down there and tell her that you're still alive mysef."

Jason turned and glared at the first boy-wonder, who matched the look in response. "Look, I'm not trying to have some deep, chick-flick moment. I'm just trying to understand why you won't go see your sister. Help me understand, because this is unhealthy, even for you." The concern in Dick's voice was palpable, causing Jason to sigh and run a hand down his face.

"I'm…I'm messed up Dick. I fell off the wagon a long time ago, h***, maybe I was never even _on _the wagon to begin with. But, the fact is, _she _still has this image of me as the 'perfect older brother'. She remembers me as that eleven-year-old boy who used to hold her when she had nightmares and sneak her my cookie at lunch. She…she doesn't deserve for me to ruin that image, just like how I came back and ruined every good memory you guys had of me. At least with Bruce it felt kinda good, vindictive you know? With her, she hasn't done anything to have yet another thing she thought was a constant crumble around her."

Dick shook his head. "You didn't ruin anything with us and you won't ruin anything with her." He sighed before placing a tentative and cautious hand on Jason's shoulder. Half expecting it to be jerked or shrugged off, he was both relieved and surprised when it wasn't. "I know coming back has been rough. It would be for anyone, but I'm glad you're back, especially now that you seem to have taken a…less lethal approach to the bad guys. And don't think that Bruce hasn't noticed, because he has. He keeps tabs on you."

"Yeah," Jason rolled his eyes, "to make sure I'm not killing anyone."

"No, to make sure no one is killing _you._ Bruce may have the emotional range of a teaspoon, but he still cares about you and he misses you, we all do. We just know he's too stubborn, and well, he's Batman, so he'll probably never say it out loud. But Piper, she's a scared teenage girl living on the streets. I saw a picture of the two of you when I snuck the food basket in earlier. I don't think there's a thing you could have done that would make that girl hate you or not happy to see you. Just come home with me and we'll all figure this out together."

Jason thought it over and was about to answer when he heard a tiny beep come from Nightwing's ear. The older hero put a hand up telling Jason to hold on a second, before answering.

"Yeah?...I'm just sitting on a roof…Yes I know I'm supposed to be resting but…I know you said no patrol but…it's not like I'm fighting Joker or anything, I haven't even stopped a mugging…I'm 26, not 12…Tell Little D I know there's nothing wrong with being twelve…I'll head that way, okay? Geez….Enough. Nightwing out." He tapped a button on his belt before turning to Jason, rolling his eyes.

"Daddy Bats yelling at you for being out past your bedtime?" Jason cut in with a smirk.

"Something like that. I swear, you can outgrow the pixie boots and save the universe, but you'll always be treated like a sidekick." He stood up and started walking toward the edge of the roof. "I'd better get out of her before he sends Supes after me. You coming with?" He asked, but already knew the answer.

"You know Bruce doesn't want me there, that he's given up on me. Besides, that manor was never my style."

Dick shrugged. "Suit yourself." He stood on the edge about to jump off, before he turned around. "And don't be so sure about Bruce giving up on you. When Alfred told him who he was making the soup and coco for, I'm pretty sure I heard Bruce thank him. He may not show it like Mr. Rogers, but he's worried about you." He said with a smirk before giving a small salute. "See ya around, little bird."

With that, Nightwing did a back flip off of the edge of the building.

Jason sat there in shock as the original Robin jumped of the building. Bruce was worried? About him? Jason shook his head. He didn't know what was going on with the Bat and he didn't care. He didn't have time to care. It was too little, too late. The only thing that could be on his mind was his little sister and her safety. Everything else could wait, maybe for forever, just so long as he kept her safe.

He rolled his eyes as he caught sight of Dick grappling through the air, hitting a quadruple somersault in mid-jump before shooting his line out again.

"Show-off." Jason mumbled, but couldn't stop the small smirk that formed on his face.

**Well, there it was. A little angst and a little fluff (well, as close to fluff as Jason will get). I know it may seem a little OOC at points, but, let's face it, bringing back such a significant part of the past would change you a bit. (I just hope I didn't overdue it.) Anyway, please let me know what you think. I'll try to post again soon. Thanks for reading. Reviews = love. Mwah!**

**Casey  
*2nd Corinthians 4:8-9***


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long on the update, but I'm about to head back to University, so I've been trying to spend the last little bit of time I can with my family. Anyway, hope you guys like the update. Big things will be happening in the next chapter or two, so stay tuned. And for all you Damian lovers out there, trust me when I tell you he will play a much more important role in the story, just give it time. Babs will play a part as well.**

**And please, review and let me know what you think so I can write this story so that everyone will enjoy it more! Let me know what you want to see more of, less of, etc. I won't be offended (unless you're just really mean, and that would just be uncalled for).**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I only own Piper/Haley. If I owned any part of DC, we'd have a Nightwing movie by now.**

"Tim." Bruce's voice filled the cave as Tim turned around from the computer to face his mentor. "Any luck on locating Joker?"

Tim shook his head. "No. It looks like he's still in the wind. But, there've been a lot more of his lackeys out by the Outcasts' area than normal."

Bruce nodded, placing his cowl over his head. "Okay. Keep an eye on the area while myself and Damian go about usual patrol. Dick will look for any signs of the Joker," he turned toward his eldest and narrowed his eye. "On the computer, from the cave."

Dick rolled his eyes but said nothing, knowing better than to argue with Bruce while he was in Batman mode. Tim, however, raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Jason's going to be watching Piper and the neighborhood. He might hate us, but he'll call for help if something happens. He won't risk her."

"No. I want you keeping an eye out on the neighborhood."

"Why? Jason will be there. Why can't I go on patrol and be productive?"

"Probably because you're a nuisance and screw everything up."

Tim turned to glare at Damian while Bruce narrowed his eyes. "Damian, that's enough."

"What? He's just like a lost little puppy that nobody wants around. Hopefully he'll get the hint soon and leave for good this time."

"Damian. Batmobile. Now."

With that order, Damian sauntered off toward the vehicle.

Bruce looked toward Tim and sighed, "Tim…" He began to raise his hand to rest on Tim's shoulder, but, at the last minute, stopped. "I need someone I can trust watching for Joker and his men. I know you can keep a cool head and handle the situation until I get there." With that, he walked to the car, peeling out and leaving the cave.

Tim stared after them until the car was out of sight, the corners of his mouth turned downward in a frown before sighing. Dick walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Want to talk about it?"

Tim shrugged. "Just missing the way things were when I was wearing the red and yellow." He paused. "Before any of the crisises happened, before we lost so many people." He shrugged. "I guess I just…I miss having people to fly with."

"Timmy…"

"I got to go." He cut short before he hurried over to the Redbird.

"Tim!" Dick tried to call after him, but the bike had already started and left the cave. "Dang it!"

Dick sat down heavily on the chair in front of the computer and ran a hand through his hair. He hated that his "little brother," had so much hurt in his life. He had lost his parents, his two best friends, thought his girlfriend (well, now ex-girlfriend) was dead, watched Dick's own near death experience with Superboy-Prime, then thought Bruce was dead. After all this, Dick had the bright idea to strip him of the Robin mantle and give it to Damian because he thought the younger boy needed it more.

What had become blatantly obvious over the past year, however, was that it may not have been the right choice. Tim had lost everyone he had ever cared about, and, Damian's attitude toward him was not helping him get out of whatever slump he was in.

In fact, now that Dick thought about it, a smile from Tim was becoming as rare as a smile from Bruce anymore. Dick sighed once more while running another nervous hand through his hair. He wasn't sure what to do. Maybe he could convince Bruce to send Damian to Bludhaven with him and Batman could patrol with Tim some.

Turning back to the computer, Dick resolved to talk to Bruce about Tim's behavior and see what they could do to help him. Bruce generally had as much emotions as a rock, but maybe he could get past that just this one time to help Tim out.

* * *

Piper pulled her flimsy jacket tighter around her as she walked through the east side of the Narrows, sighing as the temperature dropped even lower. She had just come from her "job" to earn a little extra cash. She somewhat regretted giving her only coat away earlier in the week, but one of the younger girls who had just joined the Outcast was just getting over a pretty tough bout with the flu and she didn't want the poor kid to get sick again.

She walked with a slight limp as she crossed the darkened street. She stopped for a moment, leaning against the wall of a building and gently clutching her ribs before she took a few deep breaths and composed herself. She wiped at her nose and mouth before she stood up straight, squared her shoulders, and began walking again, a slight limp being the only indication her health wasn't a 100%.

Glancing at the clock on the tower of the Gotham Central Bank off in the distance, she sighed. It was already pretty late and she wanted to just go home and get some sleep. She took a sharp turn down a dark alley, knowing it'd shave about five minutes off her walk. She was halfway through the other side when she heard movement behind her.

"Hey, Goldie. Wait up."

She rolled her eyes at the name and kept walking, knowing better than to stop for _any_ stranger in Gotham…unless, of course, he was dressed as a Bat or something of the sort. Those were the only strangers you could honestly trust. And there were people who even had their doubts about them.

"Hey, sweetie, we're talking to you." Another yelled, causing Piper to draw her coat tighter and walk faster. Her other hand went toward the two knives in her pocket. She wished that she had her gun on her, but she wasn't allowed to carry firearms at the club, so she left it at home, instead depending on her trusty knives, her two favorites which she had affectionately named "thunder" and "lightning."

She didn't hear the other man, who was further down the alley, until he was on her, pinning her arms uselessly at her side in a bear-hug. She winched at the added pressure to her already sore torso, but took a few calming breaths, knowing that she couldn't show weakness. She likely could break free from the hold, but she knew it would be better to wait until she knew how many creeps she was contending with and where they all were at before she made her first move.

"Look here." Said the first one, a large red head with a scar down the side of his face. He held up a picture next to Piper's head. "This is the girl boss has been looking for."

The second one smiled a toothless grin as he looked down at her. "Well, we better take her to him then. I know he has some…plans…for her. Call ahead and let them know we have her." The grin the lackey gave her sent a chill down her spine. Glancing around, she saw there were six guys slowly surrounding her.

She gripped her knives tighter in her hand and was preparing to throw her head back to break the nose of the guy holding her, thus breaking his hold on her and giving her the maneuverability to fight. However, before she could a red streak came flying through the air and landed on two of the thugs, knocking them out.

Throwing her head back, she connected with the nose of the man holding her, throwing him off of her. She then grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder, causing him to land on the ground in front of her before she kicked him across the face, hard.

She turned to another attacker, who was rushing at her with a crowbar. She quickly launched the knife into his arm, causing him to drop the crowbar. She then rushed him, jumping up and grabbed the ladder of the fire escape, swinging her momentum towards him and kicking him straight in the chest, causing him to go flying a few feet backward.

She turned, ready for another attack. There were only two lackeys left on their feet and they were circling Red Robin. He punched one hard across the face, ducked under the others punch before mule-kicking him backward. He grabbed the first assailants head and slammed it against the wall and elbowed the second guy in the nose before turning around and kicking him in the chest, sending him flying into the other guy and knocking them both out.

The masked hero then faced her. "You okay?"

She nodded quickly before glancing at the men on the ground. "Yeah. Thanks, but you know I could have taken these guys, right?"

He gave her a skeptic look and was about to respond whenever a large ruckus was heard coming their way. Glancing to his right, he saw nearly a dozen more minions turning the corner. To his left side, it was the same story.

"Crap." He muttered to himself before glancing back at Piper. "Hold on to me." He ordered, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her tight against him as he grabbed his grappling hook and aimed it towards the roof.

Needing no further instruction, Piper threw her arms securely around Red Robin's neck and closed her eyes tightly as the line zipped them upward. Next thing she knew, they were flying through the air.

Tim looked at the girl next to him who, at first, had a tight grip around his neck and eyes slammed shut. He sent another grappling hook out, swinging them between two buildings; his eyes glanced toward Piper again. He saw her cautiously open her eyes and look around. He tensed a smidge, expecting for her to begin screaming and nearly strangle him in her sudden panic.

However, he was not anticipating the reaction she had instead.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OO!" She shouted loudly before looking over at Tim, the brightest smile on her face. "This is awesome!" Turning her head away from him, she shouted once again with delight. Tim couldn't help but to chuckle at the girl next to him.

Once he was sure they had made it a safe distance from the gang of thugs, Tim landed the pair gracefully on the roof, setting Piper down next to him.

"Okay, I'm going to have to get mugged more often if that's the end result. That was amazing!" Seeing the disapproving frown on Red Robin's face, she rolled her eyes. "But seriously, I could have easily taken them."

"There were twenty of them."

"So?" she gave a small shrug, before twisting her mouth to the side in a confused expression and scratching the back of her neck. "Okay, so I'm a little confused about the proper protocol here. Since you saved me…am I supposed to sleep with you now or wait until you save me again and _then_ sleep with you?"

Tim grew wide eyed and looked at the girl, stunned. "Wha?"

"Well, I've seen a few movies. The guy saves the girl, then she puts out, right?"

"I…I…I" Red Robin stuttered, at a complete loss before the girl started laughing loudly.

"Geez. It was a joke. Laugh a little. It won't kill you. Promise."

Red Robin looked at her sternly. "You're not funny."

"I'm a freaking comedian." She challenged. "So, I guess since you got stuck on babysitting duty you have a little time to kill." She rolled her eyes at the questioning look he gave her. "Oh, come on. We've spotted at least one of you capes cutting through our neighborhood every hour. That's never happened before. You're obviously keeping an eye on us." She questioned before hobbling over to the edge of the roof. She hissed slightly and grabbed her ribs, sitting down.

"Are you okay?" Red Robin asked from behind her, but was met with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah. Wasn't even from the thugs. We just had a rough training session for the watch. Banged up the ribs a little, jostled 'em as we were flying through the city."

He quickly apologized, causing her to turn around and shake her head.

"What? No! That was awesome. Most fun I've had in a long, long time. Don't even worry about it." She let out a small sigh, the smile on her face replaced by a look of concern. "Is something about to happen in the neighborhood I should know about? Is that why you guys have been around?"

Tim sighed and shook his head slightly. "We don't have any specifics. But, we know Joker is…unpredictable, but he's not one to take something like this lightly, so we've been keeping our eyes peeled."

Piper nodded, content with the answer. "We've figured as much. Doubled patrol; those of us with more experience have been pulling a bit of over time."

"And everyone's parents are okay with that?"

She chuckled. "You're dressed up in a cape and cowl fighting crime in one of the roughest cities in America, in the dead of night, and you're asking about how _our _parents feel about our nighttime activities? That's rich."

"Double R, look at where we are." She gave a broad sweep of the area in front of them. "This is the roughest part of town outside of Crime Alley. Even though we've cleaned a few blocks up, everything around us is still s***. Do you think the people who live here are capable of being decent parents? They're either too busy working their second minimum wage job overnight, passed out drunk on the apartment floor, or too busy trying to score their next high to care what their kids do."

"Is that what your parents are like?" He asked from behind her, although he already knew the answer. Instead of the stern glare he was expecting, he was met with a scoff and a shake of her head.

"I don't do backstory, and the fact that you hid behind a mask means you probably don't either."

He nodded. "Fair enough." His head motioned toward the edge of the roof. "Let's get you to your apartment."

"Only if we can swing there."

"No, I was actually planning on hailing a taxi."

Piper turned to face him, her sapphire eyes alight and a giant smile on her face. "Was that a joke? Ah, Double R, you can smile." She grabbed onto him so she wouldn't fall off while they were swinging. "Oh, make sure you tell Nightwing I said thanks for the food and stuff. Appreciated it."

* * *

_Earlier:_

**Disgust**: A feeling of revulsion or profound disapproval aroused by something unpleasant or offensive.

Well, disgusted would be the understatement of the year for how Jason Todd felt standing in the tiny apartment that his little sister called home.

It was worse than anything they had ever stayed in while they were growing up. There was no TV, no radio; no sense of comfort. The bed was lying on the ground with a holey blanket on top of it. She didn't have a coat or hardly any winter gear. The cabinets were bare accept for a miniscule amount of stale food. He had turned on the water on and it was barely lukewarm even after having ample time to warm up.

He sighed. He had always promised his sister that they would have a better life than this; that one day she would stay in a palace like Princess Jasmine. That she would have her all the Chicken and Dumplings and Triple Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter cookies she would ever want. The clothes she saw in the windows at the fancy stores would be hers and she'd sleep in a big bed, warm and happy with all the toys she could want.

Had he actually thought he'd be able to deliver these things to his sister? Probably not, but he had vowed to himself that he would do all he could to make those promises come true.

However, the lack of material objects wasn't what bothered him most. True, the fact that he could vividly picture how cold and hungry his baby sister was in the drafty apartment made bile rise in his throat and his heart constrict in his chest, but again, it wasn't the worst part.

No, what was the worst was how bare and lonely the apartment was. As a child, Piper's room was lively and bright. They didn't have a lot of money, but every picture she drew was with the brightest Crayons and was taped on her wall. Every picture she found in their dingy apartment that had someone she loved in it was also put on her wall. She said that way they'd always be with her.

However, the apartment had no pictures. There were no drawings or posters. Nothing. Just bare, dirty walls with peeling paint. He ran a hand down his face, anguish and angst clearly fighting a winning battle over his other emotions.

But, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small picture hidden by the mattress corner near the flimsy excuse for a pillow she had. Pulling it out from where it was pinned next to the wall, he gave a sharp intake of breath at what he saw.

It was a picture of the two of them taken right before their mother passed away and they were then separated by the foster care system; Jason was 12 and Piper was 7. He was carrying her piggy-back style. She gave a carefree grin, missing both of her front teeth and he smiled as well, wider than he had in a long, long time. And, clutched in her hand, was her trusty stuffed monkey, Abu. He smiled at the memory. He had…okay, he had stolen the toy, yeah, but his sister had fallen in love with Disney and didn't have a stuffed animal to her name, and Jason wasn't going to let that happen. So, when he saw the stuffed animal monkey, he couldn't not get it for her for her birthday and since he didn't have any money, he shoplifted. He had felt a pretty strong sense of guilt whenever he left the store, but it was all worth it when he saw the brilliantly blue eyes of his sister sparkle as he handed her the toy. She never went anywhere without it afterward, and, the last time he saw her (not counting his spying on her from the roof across the way) was her in the back of a CPS car, tears streaming down her face as she was driven to a foster home, Abu clutched tightly in her arms.

He sighed, placing the picture back where he saw it and was about to leave the apartment when yet another object caught his eye. His breathing hitched in his throat as he saw it. _Abu. _He was on the bed, much worse for the wear as nine years of travel would do, but he was here none the less.

And it clicked for Jason. There were no pictures of her old foster families, any of their old friends, not even their parents. No. There was just _him. _Memories of _him. _And the realization that she was still holding on to anything of him that she could caused a wave of emotions to wash over him.

He wiped the dust from his eyes with his sleeve (he _wasn't _tearing up. Red Hood didn't cry) before moving to the window, unable to sit by and do nothing any longer.

* * *

Piper opened her apartment door, hand on her knives as she walked inside. Glancing around, she recognized that no one was in her apartment, but, something was definitely different. Over at her mattress she saw two new, thick blankets that looked incredibly warm with a new pillow to accompany them. A new tarp was over her busted window, keeping the cold out. On the floor, a pair of new sweatshirts and pants sat atop of her other clothes.

Walking further inside, she saw a few bags of groceries on the card table, as well as a couple hundred dollars in cash. Glancing quickly around the apartment again, she assured herself no one was still there as she walked closer to the table.

Seeing a hastily scrawled note, she smirked as she saw the message:

_Kid,_

_I know you gave away what Nightwing gave you._

_Don't do it again._

_Eat the food (you're too skinny) and keep everything else._

_-A friend._

She chuckled again as she shook her head, muttering_. _"Freaking bats, man." Opening a bakery box and pulling a triple chocolate chip peanut butter cookie from inside, she sighed contently as she tasted the familiar flavor of her favorite cookie.

By his design, she didn't see the red-helmeted figure on the rooftop across from her, watching closely to make sure she followed the instructions of his note.

**Well, there you have it. Chapter 4. Hope you enjoyed it. And guys, seriously, I kinda love reviews, like more than chocolate (and I love chocolate). So, just drop a quick line and let me know what you think. It'll make me write faster, promise!**

**Until next time  
Casey**

***2nd Corinthians 4:8-9* **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long. I just moved back to my on campus house, so I've been busy packing, then unpacking, then catching up with friends. So, to make up for the weight, this chapter is a wee bit longer. I hope you enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own Piper/Haley and her friends. All other characters are property of DC Comics. The song is property of Disney.**

Piper walked into the rusty, old looking building, bag slung over her shoulder as the moldy and musty smell filled her nostrils. She couldn't help the grin that graced her face. She recognized that her apartment was merely a place to sleep, not a home. She didn't have a home, and if she were honest, she hadn't had one for a long time, if she had ever had one.

But the old gym that the Outcast had converted into a youth center of sorts felt like the closest thing she had to a home anymore. She grinned and waved at the multiple "Hey Haley" and other greetings she received as she walked in. Before she got ten feet in the door, a group of about five children under the age of twelve ran up to her.

"Haley! Haley! Will you go to the gym with us! Please, please, please!" One of the girls asked with large puppy dog eyes.

Haley cocked her head to the side. "Did you guys already get all your homework done?"

All nodded but one of the boys in the back. "Phil?" She asked, as the nine-year old sighed and threw his hands up in the air.

"I didn't do my math, alright. But it's stupid anyway! Why do I need to know fractions, huh?"

She sighed quietly before looking at the other kids. "You guys go ahead downstairs and start stretching. But stay off the equipment. You know the rules; get caught on there without permission and you're banned from the gym for a week." They nodded and ran off

She knelt down so she was eye-level with the boy. "Phil, you know very well why you have to learn fractions. You don't want to be stuck in the Narrows for the rest of your life, do you?" He shook his head. "Then you need to do well in school so you can get into a good college, get a good job and _never _have to look back."

He frowned. "I'm too stupid to understand fractions."

"Hey! What's the first rule of the center?"

""No put-downs." He murmured quietly.

"That's right. No put-downs. That means no putting down yourself either. You aren't stupid, okay. Fractions are hard and they come easier to some people, but the rest of us have to work really hard on them, okay? But you can do it, I believe in you. You're very smart and very special."

He smiled brightly at the compliment before Haley patted him on the shoulder. "Now, why don't you go over and ask Megan to help you with your homework. She's really good at math. And then, once you're finished, you can come down to the gym with the rest of us, okay?"

He nodded vigorously, a new sense of resolve before running off towards Megan. The brunette caught Haley's eye, smiled and nodded before turning to Phil, greeting him with a warm smile.

She adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge in the corner. Unscrewing the cap, she took a swig as she looked around the tables where around six children were getting help on their homework assignments. She smiled to herself, happy with what was going on, but her quiet observation was interrupted by the shouts coming from the area with the small TV.

"This is LoBoyz territory, ese. My brother and his friends will eat your brother alive. We don't want any of your kind here!"

"My kind? The Street Demonz will cut you and your punk brother up!" The two teenage boys were getting closer to one another as the one pushed the other backward. The fight was looking to quickly escalate.

Haley slammed her water bottle on the counter before yelling over her shoulder. "Ryan!" She then took over at a near running pace to the two boys. "Hey!" She shouted, grabbing them both by the front of their shirts and pulling them so they were facing her, not one another.

"Nick! Brendan! You know the rules. Colors and cuts stay at the doors. You want to be complete and utter morons, join a gang and get yourselves killed? That's your stupid decision. But you keep your gang affiliations _out _of the center." She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder giving her a soft squeeze. Knowing it was Ryan without even turning around, she lowered her voice and narrowed her eyes. "And, in case you both forgot, this is Outcast turf. Not Boyz, not Demonz, _ours. _Now, can you two get over yourselves and watch a movie in peace, or do we need to ban you for a week?"

The two nodded and quietly agreed to behave, as Ryan stepped forward. "Now apologize to one another."

The two muttered half-hearted apologizes to one another, but it was acceptable enough for the Haley, but apparently not enough for Ryan.

"Now, apologize to Haley. She sacrifices far too much for you two to just come in here and disrespect the rules like that."

At that, the two boys looked down at the floor. They may not like one another, but it was well known how much Haley did and was attempting to do for the community. As the fabled leader and founder of the Outcast, she garnered a very high level of respect from all the teens in the community.

"Sorry Haley." Nick said, genuinely sorry for his actions.

Brendan barely looked up from the ground. "Yeah. Sorry Hales."

She nodded, a small smile forming on her face. "It's okay. Look, you know I don't like the fact that either of your brother are in gangs and that you're both thinking about joining. It's a bad decision and it's only going to hurt you in the long run, but I'm not going to kick you out if you join. You know our open door policy. I'm not asking you to be best friends, but you _will _keep anything gang related out of this building. Understand?"

After receiving nods from the two, she patted them both on the shoulder and dismissed them. Her arm was gently grasped by Ryan as he pulled her over to the corner, away from the others.

"Did you stock the fridge again last night?" He asked. She nodded, causing him to sigh, clearly upset. "Hales, you can't keep doing this."

She crossed her arm. "Look, I didn't even get the money from the club. It was a gift from someone. I think a Bat, but I'm not sure. And, I'm not going to stop working at the club. We might only have snacks here, but that's some of the only food some of these kids get and if we can keep them fed, that's one less draw of the gangs."

"It's dangerous, Haley."

She rolled her eyes before resting her hand on his forearm. "Ry, it's not like I'm stripping or pimping myself out or running drugs. It's a good way to get some money, and, it helps me train for the Outcasts. I'm fine, promise."

"Just promise me I won't find you dead in a ditch somewhere."

"With what we do, can you promise me the same thing?" When he remained silent, she smiled sadly. "How's this? I promise I won't take any risk I feel aren't necessary."

"You think every risk is necessary."

She smirked. "I know. It's part of my charm." She sent him a wink. "Now, stop trying to be all mother-heny. We got kids waiting for us downstairs."

"Who?"

"Well, at least on my end we've got Erin, Madison, Colby, Dean, and Sammy so far. So, it looks I'll be on the gymnastics side. You want to take the punching bag and sparring?" She asked, receiving a nod.

"Alright! We're hitting the gym if anyone who has their homework done wants to go!"

Immediately, half a dozen kids left the TV and studying area and rushed down the stairs with a few more straggling after, causing Haley to chuckle. Tara walked up behind her and rested an arm around her shoulder.

"You know they'd kill to be in the Outcast, right?"

"Yep, but they know the rules. Nobody under the age of 13 can patrol, and only then if they keep their grades up. Now, come on. Can't keep the kiddos waiting."

Walking down the stairs, a dozen and a half non-Outcast members were waiting, as well as about a dozen Outcast members. The gym wasn't technically a gym, but rather a very wide open area and was pretty run down; it actually looked like the gym from Space Jam pre-spit shine.

On the right side were a few old gymnastic mats placed along the ground to be used for sparring. There were a few punching bags placed throughout as well. On the left side, more gymnastic mats littered the ground, but on top of them sat older, run down gymnastics equipment. There was a balance beam, a rickety set of uneven bars, and an area to work on floor events. An older stereo sat in the middle of the floor, Haley walked up to it, grabbed a CD, and pushed play. The Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Higher Ground" began to pulse throughout the old area

"Alright, let's do it!"

* * *

They had been at it for about an hour. For the first forty, Haley had walked around on the gymnastics side, shouting out instructions and acting as spotter for the uneven bars and balance beam, catching youngster after youngster who wanted to have a go at it. But now, Haley was standing next to the balance beam where she was "coaching" one of the eleven year old girls, Colby, on a routine. The girl had been getting "tips" from Haley since the youth center had "opened" three years ago. The girl had definitely been blessed with some natural talent and, with some work, was shaping up to be a fine gymnast, especially given the equipment they were limited by. Haley smiled broadly as Colby hit a twisting somersault perfectly, then did two backflips then a twist off the balance beam and stuck the dismount.

Haley fist-pumped excitedly before rushing over and giving Colby a high-five. "Awesome, Colbs! You nailed it."

The young girl smiled brightly at the praise, but, as always, asked "what can I do better?"

Haley chuckled. "You sound so much like I did when I was your age. You did all that really well, we just need to make it a little more crisp and add an element or two." Out of all the kids who came to the center, Colby was, by far, the one she was closet too. She had lost a brother to a turf war between gangs a few years back, and Haley could definitely relate. Feeling the child could go the wrong way without the proper guidance, she took her under her wing, taking a special interest in making sure she was doing okay in school and wasn't having any problems at home. A druggie mother and absentee father, however, basically made the latter a given, so Colby spent as much time at the center and with Haley as she could.

"Now," Haley swung an arm over her shoulder. "Have you thought any more about trying out for the gymnastics team at school?"

Colby sighed. "I want to but…that stuff's expensive. How am I going to afford it?"

"Don't you even worry about that. If you want to do this, go for it, and when you make the team, we'll take it from there, okay?" She pulled the girl into a side-hug as she nodded her agreement.

"Alright guys." Haley yelled. "It's getting dark, you know what that means. It's time to start heading home."

A round of groans and protest filled the air, as the all the kids made their displeasure known at the thought of leaving. "Guys, come on. You know Gotham isn't safe after dark. Let's go."

"But Haley!" One of the youngest children in the center, seven-year-old Madison protested. "You didn't even get on the bars today!" The children surrounding her spoke their agreement, causing the leader of the Outcast to sigh.

"Alright. Alright. If I do an uneven routine, will you guys leave peacefully?"

Seeing the multitude of nods, she sighed before nodding. "Alright, alright." She said, walking over to the bars as she stretched her arms. One of the kids ran up the stairs and yelled "Haley's doing uneven bars!" causing all those who were left upstairs to hurry downstairs.

She looked to Ryan. "Number 12." He hit the coordinating number on the CD play and Thousand Foot Krutch's "Break the Silence" blared.

Jumping up, she hit the high bar and immediately hit a handstand, then repeated it, only twisting at the top. Gaining some momentum, she did a release, twisted in mid-air, then grabbed onto the bar, spinning, connecting it to a move to the low bar, on which she did a handstand, then another switch back to the high bar.

She continued an amazing routine, collegiate level caliber, for a good minute or two, before hitting a double twisting dismount. She took a little hop and step on the landing, but, overall, was pleased with herself.

She turned to the kids, who all applauded, ooohed, and awed. "Thanks guys, but its closing time. You'd better go home, cause you can't stay here." And, with a round of goodbyes, everyone too young to be in the Outcast was gone.

As the door closed and the last child left, Danny, a 6'4" seventeen-year-old Outcast member closed the door behind the kids quickly and turned around, smiled. "The kids are gone!"

"Freedom!" Alex shouted, throwing his hands in the air in joy, causing Tabitha, a pretty blonde, to high five her twin sister, Tiffany, before looking over at the others.

"So what are we going to do? Wolves and Owls are on patrol tonight, so we have the night to ourselves?"

"Cards?" Ryan suggested.

"Nah, I'm pretty beat from chasing the kids around tonight." Alex ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair.

"Movie night?" Tara suggested.

"Yeah. But which one?"

A wide smile grew on Tara's face. "Welcome to the Good Burger…"

Tiffany smiled back. "Home of the Good Burger…"

"Can I take your order?" Tabitha finished, before Haley started doing the running man while singing.

"Kurt go to jail, Kurt go to jail. Kurt go to jail, jail, jail."

The other girls joined in and were soon dancing along with the song.

Two hours later, the seven Reapers of the Outcast were sitting around the small TV found in the center, watching the beginning of_ Boondock Saints_, having already finished _Good Burger_. The twins, Tiffany and Tabitha, were sitting on the couch between Alex and Danny. Tara was sitting backward on a chair, resting her chin on her hands while Ryan and Haley were lying on the ground; she was lying curled against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.

About halfway through the movie, Haley stood up and yawned while stretching. "Guys, I don't think I'm going to make it through the rest of this movie. I'm going to head back to my place."

"Want me to walk you?" Ryan asked as he sat up and started to stand.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

"Haley…"

"Ryan, I'm the leader of the Outcast. Give me some credit. Besides, the Wolves and Owls are out tonight, so we've got eyes everywhere. Nobody will get a drop on me. Stay here and watch the movie."

"You sure?"

She smiled and nodded. "Sure I'm sure."

She gave the others high-fives before grabbing her new coat from by the door and walking outside.

She smiled to herself as the fresh air hit her face. It was a warmer night in Gotham, which meant the walk back to her place wasn't going to be unbearable, which was a definite welcome change to the previous week. Looking up, she couldn't help but grin as she saw it was a clear night in Gotham City and that the stars were visible – or at least as visible as they could be with all the artificial light of the city.

Taking off at a jog, she hurried to her apartment, running into her room and quickly grabbing her stuffed monkey, a pillow, and a blanket before jumping onto the fire escape. She hurried up to the roof of the building and laid down, propping her head up on the pillow and covering up with the blanket while cuddling with Abu.

She searched the sky intently, looking for the right star. Finally, she found it. Betelgeuse- one of the brightest and most visible stars in the night sky, always making it easy to find. _Jason's star. _

After her father had passed away, Piper had had an extremely hard time dealing with it. So, on a clear night, Jason took her outside and told her how, after people died, they got a star and that's how they looked after the people they loved who were still on Earth.

So, after Jason died, she found a star for him. Since she was in a city, she couldn't see the stars most nights, so she picked the brightest one, that way it was easiest to spot out. And, on the clear nights that were oh so rare in Gotham, Piper would sit outside and look at the stars, holding on to the only connecting she could.

"Hey Jay-Jay." She said quietly as she looked up at the star. "Sorry I haven't come to talk to you for a while; it's been cloudy and pretty cold. So, you'll never believe what happened. The other day, we actually got the chance to save a superhero. Yeah, we saved Nightwing. Can you believe it? And I met Red Robin. Can you imagine how cool it would be to know those guys? Seriously! But, anyway, so the Joker was there and he…" her voice continued on as she continued to recount the story until she fell asleep under the stars.

* * *

Jason pulled beanie down lower as he walked around the neighborhood, sunglasses in place to hide his face. He eventually stopped walking to lean against the wall, slurping on his Coke as he watched the scene across the street.

It was the middle of a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Since the weather was so nice and, honestly, perfect, a good majority of the neighborhood kids were outside playing. It was a scene not seen often in Gotham, since most kids feared the gangs of the area, as well as the criminal underworld. However, these kids seemed perfectly at ease playing on the street, and Jason soon saw why.

Nearly twenty members of the Outcast were walking around, including the seven Reapers. Jason knew who all of them were since he had spent the last two weeks gaining intel on his sister, all her friends, and the Outcast. He knew the Reapers were the seven oldest members of the group, all of which had been there either since or right after the inception of the group. There were the leaders, with each being in charge of different aspects of the training or growth of the group.

Tiffany and Tabitha were in charge of teaching the kids to learn how the city moved, Tara was in charge medical, Alex was in charge of splitting the kids into different groups and meeting with those factions leaders, Ryan ran training sessions for hand to hand combat and weapons usage. Piper was the overall leader of the group. She did a bit of all those things, kept the youth center running smoothly, and kept track of the progress they had made on the crime rate and how much "territory" they had.

Jason smiled to himself as he watched how the kids all naturally flocked to his sister. She was so energetic and happy, but, he asked himself how much of that was fake. He saw how her smile seemed to falter when she thought no one was looking and how very _alone _she was. There were so many kids, any of them would have stayed with her on a regular basis or their parents would have let her stay with them.

But she stayed by herself, seemingly keeping the world at arm's length. And, that killed Jason because it was the _same _thing he did. And he knew the pain it took to get him to that point and, even worse, the pain maintaining that distance caused.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he saw his sister begin to double dutch along with a few of the neighborhood kids and an older boy, whom he knew from his intel to be Ryan. They were doing quite well until Piper's foot hit the rope and she tripped over it. Jason was already pushing himself from the wall, ready to help her, but stopped as he saw Ryan grab her and fall with her, taking the brunt of the hit as the two hit the ground laughing, her head resting on his chest as he kept his arms around her waist. Jason rose an eyebrow behind his glasses, taking note to gather more information on this Ryan character.

Piper then stood up and started toward where the kids were playing Hopscotch, but stopped short when she saw a younger girl sitting on a building's stoop, a dejected look on her face. Piper walked up to her and bent down, saying words that Jason couldn't hear. The girl's face scrunched up like she was about to cry, but before any tears came out, Piper jumped back, spun around, and started to sing, loudly.

"Now I'm the king of the swingers  
Oh, the jungle VIP  
I've reached the top and had to stop  
And that's what botherin' me"

She stared strutting around the area, snapping her fingers and doing a dance type walk around all the kids, most of whom had stopped what they were doing to watch her.

"I wanna be a man, mancub  
And stroll right into town  
And be just like the other men  
I'm tired of monkeyin' around!"

"Oh, oobee doo  
I wanna be like you"

She grew louder, and taking the girl's hand, pulled her to her feet and started dancing with her. The young girl couldn't help but smile from ear to ear and start dancing.

"I wanna walk like you  
Talk like you, too  
You'll see it's true  
An ape like me  
Can learn to be human too"

Piper picked the girl up and started dancing around with her as others started to dance as well.

A lump formed in Jason's throat as he remembered a very similar scene from their childhood.

_A 10-year-old Jason walked into the apartment to find his mother passed out on the couch again. He rolled his eyes and pulled one of the flimsy blankets off the back of the couch and covered up his mother. Then, knowing what his responsibility was, he took off down the hallway until he saw his sister in the tiny room that they shared. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and tear tracks on her face._

"_Hey Pipes." He knelt down in front of her and wiped at her eyes. "What's wrong?"_

"_I-I c-couldn't wake M-mommy up."_

_Jason smiled sadly at his sister. "Mom…well, she's not feeling good. But, she'll be fine." He quickly added. "Have you had supper yet?" When the five-year-old shook her head, he reached down and picked her up. "Come on, let's go find you something to eat."_

_Carrying her into the kitchen, he sat her down on the counter before looking around. He frowned as he saw it was nothing but bare cabinets. Of course, their mother had been too busy looking for her next score to provide food for her children, not that they had much money since Willis had passed away. Shaking his head angrily, Jason walked over to his sister again._

_She looked like she was about to start crying again. "There's no food, is there?"_

_He frowned. "Not here. Come on, we're going to have to go to the shelter." He hated the look of fear and sadness that washed over his sister. She _hated _the shelter, claiming that it smelt funny. Plus, being around that many people scared her, and rightfully so. Jason knew a few of the men weren't exactly safe for kids to be around, so, he only went to the shelter as a last resort, and even then, wouldn't let go of Piper's hand for the world._

_He sighed inwardly as fresh tears dripped down her face. "I-I-I'm not h-h-hungry. I d-don't wanna g-g-go." _

_Picking her up, he held her tight against him, carding a soothing hand through her hair as they quietly left the apartment. "You have to eat Pipes. We have to go. I'm sorry." Feeling her start to shake as they stepped outside, he looked around quickly for something to cheer her up, before seeing an opportunity. Setting her down on the stairs quickly, he stepped back by the fire escape ladder. _

"_Now I'm the king of the swingers,  
__Oh the Jungle VIP.  
__I reached the top and had to stop  
__And that's what's bothering me."_

_He jumped up on and swung around on the ladder, causing his sister to shriek in delight as he jumped down and kept singing and dancing toward her._

"_I wanna be a man, mancub__  
__And stroll right into town__  
__And be just like the other men__  
__I'm tired of monkeyin' around!"__  
_

_Picking her up, he spun her around quickly as she laughed. He then continued to spin with here in his arms as he danced around the alley._

_"Oh, oobee doo__  
__I wanna be like you"_

"_I wanna walk like you__  
__Talk like you, too__  
__You'll see it's true__  
__An ape like me__  
__Can learn to be human too"_

_He went through the entire song before stopping, and, seeing the bright smile he had placed on his sister's face, he was glad he had chosen to make himself look like an idiot to make her laugh._

"_Come on, let's get you some dinner, and we won't even go to the shelter."_

_Jason had ended up pick-pocketing some old man that night in order to take Piper to a little diner where they served her favorite: Chicken and dumplings. He got her the large portion and a small grilled cheese for himself, not having stolen enough money for them both to get a big meal._

_And that song became somewhat of a signature song for them. Anytime Jason wanted to get a smile or laugh out of his sister, he would bust into the song and dance, and, without fail, find what he was searching for._

"Like someone like you, can learn to be like someone like me." Jason quietly finished from his spot against the wall. Seeing his sister dancing and acting like a normal sixteen year old with her friends gave him hope that maybe his sister could live a normal life.

Although he had contemplated going up to her today, he realized now that she had a good life, or as good of a life as some street kid from Gotham could get. What would be accomplished by him going up to her and telling her who he was? If she wanted to come stay with him, what was he going to do, take her to his shabby little apartment that, in all honesty, wasn't in any better shape than hers? Would she even want anything to do with him?

And how would he explain his sudden reemergence? She was smart, so what if she saw through his cover story and realized who he really was? A murder. A crimelord according to some. A black sheep who destroyed everything he touched.

No, he wouldn't do that to her. She still remembered him as the smart, energetic, innocent eleven-year-old he had been the last time he saw her. He wouldn't ruin that for her. He wouldn't rob her of all the good things she remembered about him like he had done with Bruce, Dick, and Alfred.

He sighed, knowing it was for the best that she was never the wiser about him being alive. A distant sound of police sirens grabbed his attention. Catching the scene in front of him, he reasoned that he could abandon his post for a few hours to show his face to the criminal underworld. The Outcast would take care of Piper for him; they had thus far. So, he casually walked into the alley, humming "I Wanna Be Like You."

As she finished a run-through at the hopscotch game, Piper looked over toward the building across the street, staring at it intently.

"Haley, you alright?" Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, just…thought I saw someone."

"Want me to send some people to check it out."

"No…I'm sure it was nothing. Probably just imagining things." She continued to stare at the place where Jason had been standing just a few moments before, then turned away.

* * *

Jason smirked to himself and cracked his knuckles as he stood over the gang members. He had just worked over some of the Demon Boyz crew for trying to sell to some kids on the upper east side. He had spent so much time watching over his sister that the Red Hood had forgotten exactly how much he enjoyed kicking the crap out of the bad guys.

He had been at this for a few hours now and it had felt great, so much so that he wasn't ready to stop yet. However, he also had the urge to go check on Piper, so he compromised; he'd do a swing by, make sure there were no suspicious characters around, then head off to break up so more drug deals or whatever else he found that night.

He was about to cast his grappling hook when he felt the ground shake and heard a large explosion. Reaching out to the wall to steady himself, he looked toward the cause, his hand already going to his gun.

The sight before him, however, stopped him cold, causing him to drop his gun to the ground with a clatter.

Because the west side of the Narrows – where he had watched his sister just that morning – was alight in a giant flame.

"PIPER!"

**Well, there it was. Cliffhanger, I know, I'm sorry. Anyway, next chapter is where things really start to pick up, so hold on to your seats. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Please leave me a line or two and let me know what you think and what you'd like to see me do differently. Thanks a million. Love ya!**

**Casey  
*2nd Corinthians 4:8-9***


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